International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva has announced that Gita Gopinath, the Fund’s first female chief economist and director of the research department, intends to leave in January 2022 and return to Harvard University’s economics department as planned when her public service leave ends.
Harvard University had extended Gita’s leave of absence on an exceptional basis by one year, which allowed her to serve as chief economist at the IMF for three years. “Gita’s contribution to the Fund and our membership has been truly remarkable - quite simply, her impact on the IMF’s work has been tremendous. She made history as the first female chief economist of the Fund and we benefited immensely from her sharp intellect and deep knowledge of international finance and macroeconomics as we navigate through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,” Georgieva said in a statement.
The search for a successor will begin shortly. Gita did her BA (Hons) in economics from Delhi’s Lady Shri Ram College and then MA from the Delhi School of Economics and the University of Washington.
The IMF MD said Gita also worked tirelessly with other IMF departments to connect with policymakers, academics, and other stakeholders on a new analytical approach to help countries respond to international capital flows via the Integrated Policy Framework. She also helped set up a Climate Change team inside the IMF to analyse, among other things, optimal climate mitigation policies. Gita’s research has been published in many top economics journals.
